ENNEAD
Jun 5, 2021Well-written, complex (in a good way) plot and characters, and beautiful art.
Not for the weak hearted. Please don't go into this expecting romance. The yaoi and BL tag are perhaps somewhat misleading. Yes, there is sex between men - but it's not portrayed as romantic here. Yes, there's sexual tension between Seth and Horus, but as of chapter 68 I'm not sure that pairing would work out to be the most reasonable, considering the situations. There should be trigger warning for rape (the webtoon treats rape as a very serious subject).
As with most mythologies, incest happens. Though most webtoons make the incest more subtle, like they try to change the family relations between characters, this is full-blown, unabashed incest - exactly like in Egyptian mythlogy. So if you can't stomach incest, turn away, turn away. Now, I hate reading incest too, but because the relations are adapted from mythology, I understand where they're coming from. Also, they're gods and goddesses, so I figured there would be some leeway for incest there.
The plot is pretty complex. Complex in a good way. I think it's better to binge-read this to fully absorb what's going on. The plot is, in my opinion, written well. And that goes for the characters as well. What I really love about this webtoon is that we're shown the different perspectives and motivations of each god. Nothing is entirely black or white, but patches of grey here and there. There are some plot twists that are actually unexpected but foreshadowed (that's some good writing there when it foreshadows and you expect something, and that something does happen but you're still surprised).
There's plenty character development. We're shown thought processes and how characters came to a decision. I just felt really immersed in the webtoon.
The art is gorgeous. Gorgeous. I love the art style - it really captures the Ancient Egyptian art feel - the colours and the way characters are drawn. I love the costumes and makeups. I love the way the artist played with the colours and frames of panels to fluidly tell the story. The artist draws in a way that keeps up the suspense. We don't often see the gods' face in the beginning chapters, and even later on. They're covered by their headdress most of the time, especially Horus, which gives a feeling of mystery and reverence.
I can't see how the Seth and Horus pairing would work yet, at chapter 68 as of this review. Honestly, I just don't see it right now. With the way things are going, the relationships are complex and a mess (purposely written by the webtoon as that) and the webtoon's still untangling the pieces of the story. So I have no clue what pairing, and I'm excited for the resolve.
Another thing, and slight spoilers: I don't get why everyone's hating on Isis? She's obviously a victim too, and she made decisions in a whirlwind of suffering and emotions. Yes, the decision (curse) is now long-term and harms everyone in the curse, including her, and that is a bad decision (in our human eyes). But putting all the blame on her? That's too much. She does have her faults, and so does everyone in the story, some less than others, some a lot, lot more. She's a grey character.
I recommend you read this if you want to think a bit while reading and read a highly interesting plot. This would definitely be for a more mature audience.
Some more reviews that I feel describe the webtoon extremely well:
https://myanimelist.net/manga/131827/Ennead/reviews
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/reviews.php?target_group=Webcomic&target_title=Ennead
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Oooh I loved reading your comments. It's always fun to have discussions!
I do get why you hate Isis, because judging from her actions alone, I'd say she did very wack and selfish things. I absolutely don't agree with her actions, but I don't hate her too much because I could kind of understand her mentality.
In context of the circumstance and considering some psychology stuff (which I am not an expert in lol), I can explain her unreasonable actions with strong trauma and lashing out. Again, I don't agree with what she's done at all, but I could understand what drove her to such drastic actions. I also think she should have been more supportive because Seth suffered so so much, but I also understand that it was hard for her to see past her own pain.
I'm also all with Seth on this one, though I also see how Isis might have processed the shit-tuation. I think victims can victim-blame other victims :'(
Imo, Seth and Isis are co-sufferers. I root for both of them to have a happy-ish ending, though I must say if I had to choose between who would get the happier ending, I would want Seth to be the one to get it.
Basically, I abhor Osiris (in this story) and I want him to face the most severe consequences for eternity. Isis shouldn't have done what she did because it was incredibly unjust, but I can see her trauma-influenced, flawed reasoning, and that's why I don't hate her, but instead pity her.
Ahh I just want Seth and Isis to heal.
*dislike her for good
Sorry for the seemingly angry comment btw. I have nothing with you. Your review was amazing and I agreed with mostly everything. I'm just very fired up about this. 😅 Have a nice day!
Mmm yeah, you're kind of right about Isis, and about the characters in general, not beign so white and black. But I still don't like her. She could've been much more supportive.
Like wtf, her brother got raped right before her very eyes, and she didn't intervene, didn't anything. She went away to cast some petty spell, during which she also cursed herself like a freaking moron. And later on when they (Seth and Isis) finally got to discuss all about it, she was just like "Yeah. I knew all along. But guess what?! I don't give a shit.😐" Instead, she threw all the blame of "ruining her life" on Seth, which is completely not true and unjust. Osiris didn't even love her to beign with lol (most probably, I'd bet on it). She just used her and everyone else to reach his goals and satisfy his pervert desires, and as far as I read (chapter 80 - season 2, chapter idk), he suffers virtually no consequences. He's still got his reputation pretty much intact and everyone even wishes for him to still be the king of Egypt. He terrorized everyone, especially poor Seth — he basically drove him to madness — but he's still "the victim" in pretty much everyone's eyes.
Idk, the chick didn't show even an ounce of compassion for Seth and his situation, and that made me dislike her good. She literally victim blamed Seth. And I can't tolerate that. Saying "she could've come to her", bitch he was literally unable to, pinned down in Osiris' fucking vines and plants. If he succeeded to run away for just a second, that would've been enough time for Osiris to take Anubis' life.
Idk, I'm all with Seth on this one.